Signs and Portents 19 of 52
by Echowarrior
Summary: Signs can carry both good tidings and bad as revelations come and surprises rise, all those involved in the war for the MiniCons face a long night ahead.


Signs and Portents

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

"And Megatron continues to suspect nothing?" Bludgeon asked quietly.

"So far, no," Starscream's voice noted over the communication line. "However, recent events have given me reason to tread carefully. This fight is going poorly, Bludgeon. Even with a strong hand, I don't feel secure."

"Whoever said you should?" Bludgeon asked. "I don't need to tell you to be careful, old friend. All the same, watch yourself."

"If only it were that easy," Starscream noted. "I'll contact you if anything comes up; otherwise, I'll send a regular report."

"Understood," Bludgeon said before the signal ended. The large yellow robot rose from his chair and turned to the door, only to be surprised by someone standing behind him.

"Bludgeon," Shockblast noted. "You and I have a great deal to discuss."

* * *

"You were always the stubborn one, Di," Miranda Jones noted to her sister as they went about setting up dishes. "I can't blame you for quitting, but you could've at least sued them."

"With what money?" Diana Masters asked of her younger sibling. "You know how much lawyers cost. I barely had enough to keep myself afloat with my salary."

"Still, giving up the job over that?" Miranda asked. "It's not like you were really responsible."

"I wasn't," Diana insisted, closing the dishwasher and turning it on. "But I'd prefer to not become someone's scapegoat."

Miranda sighed. "Sometimes I think you take those principles of yours way too seriously."

"Nothing wrong with having them," Diana retorted. "And better to keep them than not."

"Is that why you objected to me marrying Brian?" Miranda asked, her face gaining a stern look.

Now it was Diana's turn to sigh. "I won't deny it, sis; I don't entirely like him."

"You never said anything at the wedding," Miranda noted.

"Just because I don't like him doesn't mean that you and he didn't deserve a chance to make the marriage work," Diana told her. "And I'm glad I did keep my mouth shut; Kicker and Sally are great kids. Besides, you are my sister; better me keeping my mouth shut than me getting banned from seeing the only sibling I have."

Miranda gave a light grin despite herself. "Like that'd ever happen. And like I said before; you're welcome here as long as you need."

"Thanks, Mir," Diana said with a smile.

"Hey, anything for my big sister," Miranda promised. She checked her watch and said, "I need to go pick up Kicker from school; keep an eye on Sally while I'm gone?"

"I'll even start cooking," Diana promised in turn.

Miranda waved goodbye just as Abby, Diana's cat, slinked into the kitchen and jumped onto the top of the dishwasher. Diana gently picked up her cat and scratched her behind the ears, leaning against a nearby countertop and looking out the window.

"Well Abby, looks like you're starting to feel at home," Diana noted, the cat in her arms purring gently. "Can't help but miss everyone back in Portland, though. I wonder how the kids are doing. For that matter, I wonder how the 'Bots are doing." With a sigh, she noted, "Maybe I'm worrying too much, I don't know."

As Diana casually glanced out the window, she noticed an odd, boxy-looking shadow moving about in the basement of a nearby home. No sign of entry, forced or otherwise, and the owner was apparently just entering the house, her purse slung over one shoulder.

Diana sighed and shook her head. "Get a grip, girl; you've gotten all spooked."

* * *

Monitors flickered to life as Optimus Prime sat down at a console within the _Ark_'s computer core, Teletran-1. As he silently punched in commands to the computer, a light footfall caught his attention. "You may as well come up and talk."

"You're still beating yourself up over this, aren't you?" Sparkplug asked as he walked up to the console and activated a small control, silently rising up on a platform onto the console itself.

"It's hard for me to not feel like this," Optimus replied.

"We made the choice to leave, Prime," Sparkplug said firmly. "We chose to leave Cybertron. You didn't force it."

"But I didn't try to stop you either," Optimus silently noted. "Maybe I should've."

"Maybe," Sparkplug noted. "But you aren't one to do something like that, Prime. Never have been, never will be. And that's why we trust you; because you trust us."

Optimus gave his Mini-Con partner a glance, his optics giving a thankful look.

"So, trying to see who's left?" Sparkplug asked, changing the subject.

"Not exactly, but getting a better idea of what pods remain unopened," Prime explained as a map of North America appeared on the main screen, several blue dots blinking over various points. "Thanks to the data gathered from the _Exodus_, we have a fair idea of where the pods landed; it's thanks to that information that we've been able to send out so many teams so quickly for retrieval duty." Optimus pressed a button, and several of the blue dots shifted in colors; some were red, others purple, and a few were marked orange.

"The ones marked red are the ones we've opened," Sparkplug noted. "The purple ones were found by the Decepticons."

"And the orange ones were found by someone else," Optimus finished. "We just found the Sky Defense Team in their pod, Roadhandler, Nightbeat and Comettor in theirs, and none in this pod near San Francisco. Something happened to the other Mini-Cons in those pods, Sparkplug, and I'd prefer we find out before anything else happens."

"Easier said than done, especially considering Starscream's being unusually reticent about sharing his thoughts," Sparkplug noted.

"He's in a dangerous position," Optimus noted. "Like they say here on Earth, 'loose lips sink ships'. He'll contact us if he has to."

Sparkplug gave a quick glance to the monitor, then said, "Wait a second...Optimus, take a look there, near Seattle."

Optimus looked on the map and noted, "A pod. We know it received the activation signal; we picked it up not long after we landed. We just haven't had a chance to see about it yet."

"Maybe someone should," Sparkplug quickly noted.

Without hesitation, Optimus activated his communicator and said, "Jetfire, get your team together and meet me in the Computer Core. We've got something that needs to be taken care of."

* * *

"This isn't anythin' serious, right?" Scattorshot nervously asked as numerous scanners slid over his form, examining every bit of his construction. "I mean, just because I had that glow doesn't mean..."

"Scattorshot, do me a favor," Ratchet requested from the operating console, "and be less of a hypochondriac."

The entrance to the medical chamber slid open, and Ultra Magnus silently entered. "Well, how is he?"

"It's just like what happened to Overhaul and Crosswise on Earth according to Prime," Ratchet explained. "Previously dormant systems within Scattorshot's body have come online. The only explanation I have is that the Omega Lock really did put out some kind of signal."

"What does that mean for Scattorshot, and everyone else affected by this?" Ultra Magnus asked as the medical scanners went offline and descended into the floor around Scattorshot.

"Nothing serious," Ratchet replied. "If Vector Prime's right, all they should have are some new internals to toy with."

"So I should be okay?" Scattorshot asked.

"As okay as you can be," Ratchet assured him. "Meanwhile, I've made an analysis of the affected systems; I should be able to put together a list of those Transformers with similar systems based on records, but it'll take time."

"This might cut it down some," Magnus told him. "We've gotten word from Velocitron and Animatros; they've sent listings of Transformers on both worlds that have been affected. The lists are fairly small, however, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were incomplete, but according to them, Override and Scourge have been affected, among others."

"Better incomplete lists than none at all," Ratchet said with a shrug. "I'll do what I can here. Meanwhile, Scattorshot's free to return to duty. Just don't be surprised if he fires off a secondary weapon system of some sort by accident."

"I'll be careful," Magnus assured him. "Come on, Scattorshot; duty calls."

"On my way boss," Scattorshot replied. "Thanks, doc."

"No problem," Ratchet noted as the two departed as the data began pouring into his console. "Well, better get started before something else happens."

* * *

"And what specifically do we need to talk about?" Bludgeon asked.

Shockblast sealed the door behind him, then carefully placed a small device upon a nearby wall and activated it. "Let's review, shall we?" he then asked. "The Second Cybertronian War. The War of Rebellion. Megatron worked secretly, underground, for years. He brought numerous Decepticons over to his side, convinced them to work for him, work with him. When he felt he was ready, he waged civil war. He captured many Mini-Cons, destroyed many more, went so far as to face Jhiaxus in open conflict. He failed, and went underground."

"We both know about all that," Bludgeon noted. "We were both there."

"Yes," Shockblast replied. "You were a witness. I aided Megatron. I went into hiding with him. You joined us afterwards, along with several others...including Starscream. This brings to mind many more questions, Bludgeon. Why did you join us after the rebellion? You had no Mini-Con partner; your systems were never modified to accommodate one. Between that, your general neutrality concerning the Autobots, and the fact that the Mini-Cons left Cybertron afterwards of their own volition, you have no good reason to join; you aren't stupid enough to blame the Autobots for their departure, far from it. Which leads me to suspect another motive for your actions."

Bludgeon continued to look upon him quizzically.

"You're here as a spy," Shockblast reasoned. "Along with several others. Starscream. Thundercracker. Skywarp. I'm certain that there are more; you may even have convinced others among us to side with you rather than with Megatron."

"You have no proof," Bludgeon noted.

"Do I?" Shockblast asked, producing a small recording unit from a compartment in his left leg. He activated it, allowing its recorded message to sound out.

"Procuring the Mini-Cons will augment our forces," Starscream's voice filtered in from the recording. "You know this." A slight bit of static developed, then Starscream's voice continued, "Besides, you and I both know what will happen if Megatron gets his hands on them."

"Agreed," Bludgeon's voice came through on the recording. "Who do you need?"

"Send in those I can trust," Starscream's voice answered. "Thundercracker and Skywarp, if at all possible. I'll also need Mudflap."

Shockblast deactivated the recorder and plainly said, "I designed the communications systems we use in this facility; I know signal jamming when I find it."

Bludgeon looked upon the mono-optic Decepticon sternly and asked, "Well, what do you intend to do, hm? Report me to Megatron?"

"I did entertain that particular scenario," Shockblast admitted. "However, it would do me very little good in the long run. You aren't blind, Bludgeon; for several million years, I and the other Decepticons who have served with Megatron have languished. Some have been deactivated; many have been captured and imprisoned. And as for all those who are not fanatically loyal to Megatron or his cause, we've become bored. And with Megatron on Earth, his influence here is at an all time low. Sooner or later, many will leave. I'd prefer that they have a measure of safety should they choose to do so."

Bludgeon gave him a hard stare and noted, "I'm listening."

"I've spoken with several of the others," Shockblast explained. "Sixshot, Oil Slick and Rapid Run are willing to go with me, against Megatron. However, we want something in return; amnesty."

"Amnesty?" Bludgeon asked. "That little?"

"It is much to ask, yes," Shockblast admitted. "But I feel it a fair bargain."

Bludgeon gave the tall Decepticon a hard look and asked, "How do I know I can trust you to your word?"

"My concern is my brother, Bludgeon," Shockblast said firmly. "Nothing less or more."

Bludgeon thought for a moment, then said, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Shockblast said with a light nod before deactivating his device and exiting.

When the doors slid shut behind Shockblast, Bludgeon returned to the console and quickly punched in key commands. He activated a secure, scrambled line, making certain that it was one that Shockblast wasn't aware of, and said, "Contacting Lord Straxus at Darkmount, priority one."

* * *

"I've got good news to report," Scavenger noted via communications link. "We're approximately fifty percent complete with the total excavations here at the Colorado site. We should be ready for proper construction here within a week."

"Excellent news, Scavenger," Optimus replied. "We'll start sending whatever you need over as soon as you're ready."

"Thanks," Scavenger said. "So, how goes the war?"

"We've managed to get to four pods since we started sending out the retrieval teams," Optimus explained. "One was full, another empty, the last two half-empty."

"You think the Decepticons managed to get to any of them?" Scavenger asked.

"Doubtful," Optimus explained. "One pod was damaged from the inside, as if those who came only brought out a few and left the others. We've consulted Starscream, but there's only one real culprit."

"Dualor," Scavenger reasoned. "What do you think he's up to?"

"No idea," Optimus answered. "But we've sent out the teams anyway; Hot Shot's unit is inbound to Boston to retrieve one pod, while Jetfire's team is headed for Seattle. Based on the information from our friends in the US military, the Decepticons are mostly concerned with Energon collection; we've spotted them in a remote area of the South Pacific setting up shop at what looks like a thermal vent. Probably Starscream's idea; he reported them having energy drains before, this is most likely a method for them to offset that."

"Not much we can do for the time being," Scavenger noted. "We're going to need more Energon soon ourselves."

"We've talked with Colonel Franklin, and he's agreed to see what can be done," Optimus replied. "I'm just worried that we won't be able to find anything that suits our needs."

"Here's hoping," Scavenger said encouragingly. "Give my regards to Doctor Masters the next time you talk with her."

"Will do," Optimus promised before the transmission cut off. "Hope's all we have for the time being."

* * *

Diana had never been fond of her brother-in-law. Yes, Brian Jones was a brilliant scientist, if a little absent-minded. However, the man was hardly perfect. He made her feel uneasy; he was almost too quick to be social, so caught up in the moment that he barely thought of the consequences, or how he was perceived by others.

He was also a little too quick to hug.

"Diana, it's good to see you again!" Brian called out as he held Diana close in a big hug, making the poor woman feel a little uncomfortable. "We haven't seen you since Christmas! How've you been, how's the job going?"

"Pretty good, considering," Diana noted, a little embarrassed. "Quit the job, though."

Brian looked at her in surprise and asked, "Quit?"

"Terrorist attack in Indianapolis, I had a field trip with my students out there, I was blamed for them being in the line of fire, didn't want to be a scapegoat, quit, and if I had the money I'd've called a lawyer," Diana briefly summarized.

"No one..." Brian asked.

"Got hurt, no," Diana replied. "But the last time I checked, people don't tend to think things through logically."

"Dinner in fifteen minutes," Miranda noted, walking past them and subtly prompting the two to vacate one another's presence. "Brian, dear, would you help to set the table please?"

"Coming!" Brian cried, breaking his embrace from Diana and rushing off.

Diana sighed in relief, then heard a brief chime. She took a quick look, then darted into the bathroom and turned on the light, locking the door behind her. She pulled her new phone out of her pants pocket, checked the screen for a name, then opened the line and said, "Didn't realize these things had Caller ID. What's the occasion, Jetfire?"

"Slag, Red and Longarm didn't mess around making those things," Jetfire's voice replied. "We've noticed a Mini-Con stasis unit in the waters near Seattle; my team and I are heading over to investigate. Just wanted you to know in case you saw something."

"I'll contact you if anything comes up," Diana replied. "Just don't expect much; I've got a job to look for after all."

"Hey, not asking you to go James Bond, Diana, just to keep your eyes open," Jetfire assured her. "Beachcomber's going to take a look, so hopefully we'll find who we're looking for. Good luck with that job."

"Thanks," Diana said before ending the call, milliseconds before a knock came on the door. "Just a second!" Diana unlocked the door and opened it to find her nephew standing there waiting for her. "Sorry Kicker; didn't know you needed to go."

"No, dinner's going to be on the table in a minute," Chad 'Kicker' Jones, Diana's young nephew, explained. "Mom told me to go wash my hands."

"Better take care of that," Diana told him, pocketing her phone and stepping to one side. "I can wait."

Kicker came forward and turned on the faucet, then asked, "Who were you talking to, Aunt Di?"

"Some friends from back in Portland," Diana explained. "They're going to be passing through, and thought I should know, just in case."

"Could I see them?" Kicker asked, curiosity tingeing his voice.

"Maybe," Diana said. "They're kinda hard to spot."

* * *

"Are you certain of this?" Lord Straxus asked nervously.

"I believe that Shockblast is telling the truth, yes," Bludgeon noted. "I've had long enough to know him, his methods, his motivations. He wants to survive, and he wants his brother to survive. Better chance of that aiding the Autobots than there is aiding Megatron's forces."

"This is exciting news," Straxus all but exclaimed, his voice brimming with eagerness. "We'll need to make arrangements, yes; the Autobots will need to be informed. I'll speak with my advisors, see what they suggest from there."

"Understood," Bludgeon said, cutting off the transmission.

Straxus then turned to his advisors and asked, "Well? Your thoughts?"

The larger of the two advisors, a hulking brute with clawed hands and a massive cannon over one shoulder, bellowed, "Tankor no trust traitor! Say we blast them!"

The smaller advisor, a darkly colored Decepticon with twin rotors on his shoulders, gently spoke up adding, "While I don't quite share the same outlook as dear Tankor, I feel caution should be in order. This sounds almost too good to be true."

"Yes," Straxus noted with a thoughtful tone. "Still, I feel we should risk it. I will send word to Ultra Magnus immediately to inform him of the news. If this is indeed true, we may be a few steps closer to the end of this insurrection. Now, please, a moment alone."

The two advisors nodded, and silently left. Once they were outside of their leader's chambers and the door was shut, Tankor quickly said, "I stand by my claim, Obsidian; Shockblast and all who stand with him should be eliminated immediately."

"Patience, Tankor," Obsidian countered. "Those foolish enough to go with him will only find themselves destroyed for their foolishness. You know as well as I; Megatron does not abide betrayers. The sooner that he is done on that chunk of rock and water, the sooner we will have our rightful place on our world, and the sooner that fool is out of our hair forever."

"If it weren't for Starscream, he'd have been finished weeks ago," Tankor groused. "If only he'd fall into a black hole and save us some trouble."

* * *

Diana hadn't done much after dinner, aside from what was expected; clearing the table, putting away leftovers, that sort of thing. As her sister's family went about their individual businesses, Diana snuck away upstairs to her current room, the house's guest room, and laid out on the bed, deep in thought.

It was coincidence, she kept telling herself. A Mini-Con stasis unit near Seattle didn't necessarily connect with what she'd seen earlier today. Yet she couldn't stop thinking about it...

A gentle knock attracted her attention.

"Di?" Miranda asked, peeking in. "Suffering from indigestion?"

"No, just wanted a little quiet is all," Diana admitted.

Miranda meekly smiled and said, "And here I thought you just didn't agree with my cooking."

"Well, you could use a little more spice," Diana suggested. "Dinner aside, there's something I need to ask you. A little earlier today, I noticed your next door neighbor. Tall woman with red hair."

"Stella," Miranda noted. "Her name is Stella Holley. She works as a secretary for a paper ware manufacturer downtown. Why; jealous of her looks?"

"No, admittedly I barely noticed anything beyond the red hair," Diana admitted. She playfully grinned and asked, "Are you?"

"After two kids, I'm jealous of how every woman younger than me looks," Miranda commented. "Still, she's a nice person; you'd like her. I haven't talked with her much in the last few weeks, though; she's been kinda busy, always going out and about, bringing home stuff from electronics stores and such."

"You aren't curious about why?" Diana asked.

"Not my place to pry," Miranda explained. "Besides, for all I know, she's got an interest in model airplanes. Still, you may want to try and meet her when you can."

"I think I'll do that," Diana said, the vague beginnings of a plan forming in her mind.

* * *

"This isn't a big deal," Backtrack quickly noted.

"Not a big deal?" Spiral asked of her subordinate. "You said you'd help with the maintenance on the recharge units. You promised Longarm you'd help him out."

"That's the thing..." Backtrack said. "I came across this interesting bit of map work..."

"Maps?" Spiral said, anger mounting in her voice. "You blew off helping with the maintenance of the recharge units, which is vitally important especially as we have very limited supplies of Energon and mounting numbers of Autobots and Mini-Cons to support in this place, for a bunch of maps?"

"We might need them in the future," Backtrack claimed.

Her optics narrowed, Spiral pointed towards the door to the Mini-Con wing aboard the _Ark_ and said, "Go. Help Longarm. NOW." As Backtrack attempted a rebuttal, she repeated loudly, "NOW," prompting him to depart.

As the chamber doors slid shut and Spiral groaned in exasperation, Steamhammer walked up to her and noted, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

"Several million years in stasis hasn't helped any of us," Spiral noted. "I'm starting to think we may have been wasting our time with the ship."

"We never expected the engines to go haywire when we reached Earth," Steamhammer noted. "Maybe if we had, we could have prevented it. What surprises me is that we're only now getting back into the proper swing of things; you'd think someone would have sent out a distress signal."

"We did," a voice noted. The two Mini-Cons turned to Kingbolt as he elaborated, "At least, it was ordered that we send one out as soon as the engines went berserk. Megatron or no, we'd be better off alive than trapped in stasis forever. Why it never got to Cybertron I have no idea."

"Are we sure it was sent out?" Spiral asked.

"I ordered it, watched Redline do it with my own optics," Kingbolt explained. "It was sent, just never picked up."

Spiral and Steamhammer looked to one another, and the blue Mini-Con couldn't help but note, "That raises some interesting questions."

* * *

The next day was a Saturday, thankfully. Diana had nothing stopping her from darting out of the house and checking on her small hunch. The plan was mercifully simple; stop by next door in the early afternoon, meet the neighbor, see if they were hiding anything. Granted, it was probably overstepping things, but what options did she have?

Besides, she always favored the direct approach.

With a relaxed breath, Diana stepped up to the neighboring house, stretched her fingers for a second, then pressed the doorbell. She heard some muffled, rushed sounds from within, then the telltale sound of the door before her being unlocked. The door swung open, and an answer came, "Yes? May I help you?"

Now that she'd gotten a proper look at her, Diana couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Stella Holley was a genuinely attractive woman, about her height with long red hair and light green eyes. She couldn't have been older than her mid-twenties, and had a slim, attractive frame, that looked like it had little fat on it, if any. And what fat was there was in just the right places.

Putting her ruminations aside, Diana calmly said, "Hi, I'm Diana Masters, Miranda Jones' sister? I'm going to be staying with her for a while, thought I'd introduce myself to everyone in the neighborhood. Miranda suggested I start with you."

Stella gave her an odd look, and asked, "Just how good of a relationship do the two of you have?"

"A good one, considering," Diana explained. "Why?"

"I always thought she hated me is all," Stella said.

Diana shook her head. "She hates no one," she assured the redhead. "If she can put up with that husband of hers, she can like anybody."

Surprise growing on her face, Stella opened the door a little wider and asked, "You don't like Brian?"

"He makes me nervous," Diana admitted.

Stella grew a small smile, and admitted in turn, "He makes me nervous too." She opened the door fully and said, "Come in. Would you like some coffee?"

"Please," Diana said, grateful that she'd gotten this far. "Black."

Stella's living space was simple; a few pieces of furniture were placed about, giving a sense of space and ease of movement, but not much beyond that. Diana sat herself down on a couch and settled in, Stella returning a few seconds later with a small tray and two mugs of coffee, one black, the other a light brown.

"So why are you in town?" Stella asked as she sat down next to her visitor. "Visiting?"

"Just staying until I can get another job," Diana explained, taking a mug and holding it gently in one hand. "I quit my last one. Office politics."

"I know how that goes," Stella admitted before taking a small sip of her coffee. "I'm just glad my workplace is fairly quiet. The pay doesn't hurt either."

"It never hurts," Diana was quick to joke.

Seconds later, muffled, excited sounds came from a nearby door. Stella's eyes grew wide as Diana turned to it, seconds before the door swung open and a yellow robot cried, "Stella, she's got a...uh oh..."

As Diana slowly got to her feet, Stella slowly said, "I can explain..."

Diana turned to her and quickly said, "He's an alien robot from a planet called Cybertron. He came here around four million years ago to escape a tyrant called Megatron, but was forced into stasis. He woke up a little less than two months ago and somewhere between there and now ended up with you."

Stella blinked, then asked, "How did you know about that?"

"I've met others," Diana explained.

"You 'ave, huh?" another voice asked, this one feminine with the hint of an Italian accent. Diana turned to find a tall robot with predominantly white and pink armor walking up a set of stairs behind the yellow robot. "I t'ink you an' us need ta 'ave a little chat."

* * *

"Beachcomber's found the pod, but it looks like its empty," Jetfire explained via comm.-line. "Guess we've got another dead end. Sorry Prime."

"Nothing to apologize for," Optimus replied, standing within the _Ark_'s control center with Sideswipe beside him at the communications console. "Make a sensor sweep in case they're in the area, then contact Diana in case she's found anything. Head back to base afterwards."

"Understood," Jetfire replied before the line cut off.

Noticing Optimus's downcast tone, Sideswipe asked, "Something wrong, sir?"

"Just getting weary of all this, Sideswipe," Optimus admitted. "I feel like this shouldn't be happening to begin with."

"Maybe Hot Shot's team will..." Sideswipe began before the control center's doors slid open.

"Optimus, we need to talk with you," Kingbolt said, Spiral and Steamhammer following behind. "We need to review the computer logs from the _Exodus_; something's up."

Almost grateful for the distraction, Optimus turned to them and asked, "Care to explain your sudden concern?"

"Shortly after we activated the TransWarp drive, our engines started behaving strangely," Kingbolt explained. "We took the ship out of warp in this system, seconds before the engines exploded. Afterwards we sent out a distress signal, then went into the stasis pods and landed on Earth."

"We never picked up a distress signal," Optimus noted. "If we had, we would've come immediately."

"Nevertheless, we sent one out," Kingbolt adamantly stated. "Between you not receiving it and the engines going haywire, I think there's more going on here than mere coincidence."

Optimus narrowed his optics and said, "Agreed. I'll check the logs myself." He turned to his subordinate and said, "Keep an eye on the comm.-channels in case something comes up, Sideswipe."

"Aye sir," Sideswipe said as Optimus sat down at a console and brought up the data retrieved from the _Exodus_.

* * *

"I don't t'ink she's out ta hurt us, Red," the pink and white Mini-Con noted to one of her companions, a crimson-colored one who instantly reminded Diana of one of the Street Speed Team members. "Still, t'is is awful suspicious."

Diana found herself surrounded by four other Mini-Cons in addition to these two and Stella; the remaining four were the yellow one she'd seen earlier, a dark blue one, and two feminine ones in varying shades of purple, white and pink.

The red one gave her a critical look and asked, "We picked up an Energon-based power source on you."

Diana calmly produced her phone and said, "Probably this. It was a gift from some friends."

The red Mini-Con looked at it and noticed a telltale emblem. "The Autobot symbol." He looked at her and said, "I'm glad to see it was this one. Now how did you come across this?"

"I used to be a school teacher in Oregon," Diana explained. "Three of my students were spelunking, found a Mini-Con stasis unit, and accidentally woke all of you up."

"That explains why the pod came online like it did," the yellow Mini-Con noted. "Systems probably kicked in and alerted the Autobots to us being here."

"And you found out sometime afterwards," the dark blue one reasoned.

"Never said the Autobots wouldn't try and find us," one of the two feminine Mini-Cons noted with a clear Hispanic accent. "Glad they did."

The red Mini-Con extended a hand and introduced himself, "Redline, Super Stunt Team." Diana took it as he elaborated, "You've already met Servo, and that's Flat-Out. Our three friends are Combusta, Falcia, and Twirl, Sonic Assault Team."

"I found them almost two months ago," Stella explained, a little more at ease now that Diana had been accepted. "They've been staying with me since then."

"We figured that no matter who came after us, the Decepticons wouldn't be too far behind," Redline added.

"You were right," Diana told them. "There's about nine of them camped out on the moon. Fortunately, there's about fourteen Autobots. They've managed to get most of the Mini-Cons to safety with them and keep out of sight, but there hasn't been much beyond that."

"We figured they were here, after what happened in Indianapolis," Redline said. "How many have the Autobots found?"

"Thirty-five, last I counted," Diana told him. "The Decepticons haven't found many, but they have found a few here and there."

"What a relief!" Twirl cried out, surprising Diana by her lack of an accent. "Looks like we won't need to finish it."

With a puzzled look from Diana, Redline explained, "We've been trying to make a communications beacon for the last couple months using various bits of junk and parts from electronics stores, to try and gather the Mini-Cons into a central location." He pointed to their device, a makeshift hodge-podge of parts featuring, among other things, an old satellite dish. "We were hoping that we'd be able to get a signal out to the other Mini-Cons and warn them."

"About what?" Diana asked.

Redline looked to her and asked, "How much do you know about our exodus from Cybertron?"

"You were trying to escape from the Decepticons," Diana recalled, remembering as much of her notations as she could. "You ended up coming here, and abandoned the ship in the stasis units. I always guessed it was due to engine failure."

"That's what I thought at the time," Redline said, "but I've been going over it since waking up. The engine malfunctions started as we entered warp, and led to malfunction and their destruction when we arrived in this system. By itself, that's not suspicious. But the fact that when we tried to send out a distress signal and it wasn't received made me suspect something was going on."

"Sabotage," Diana reasoned. "Someone purposely damaged the engines, and when you made it here either knocked out communications or jammed them."

"Smart one," Falcia noted.

"That's what I believe, yes," Redline noted. "But knocking out communications would've been impossible given the timing. More likely we were jammed after we arrived in the system."

"Which would mean...aw hell," Diana realized. "You need to tell someone about this."

As if timed perfectly, Diana's phone rang right then. Redline tossed it back to her, and she answered, "Jetfire. Perfect timing."

"I hope that means you found what I think you've found," Jetfire said, sounding a little frustrated. "Beachcomber found the pod, but it was empty."

With a glance towards Redline and a nod from the crimson Mini-Con, Diana explained, "I've got good news then; I found the Mini-Cons from the pod, they're with me now. But that's not important; I need you to patch this into the _Ark_. We think the Mini-Con ship was sabotaged."

* * *

"Sabotaged sounds about right," Optimus agreed from the _Ark_'s command center, Sideswipe and Vector Prime arrayed behind him. "I just went over the sensor and communication logs; the _Exodus_ sent out a distress signal, but it was jammed near the source. We've also found what we think is the source of the jamming; there's an odd energy signature recorded on the ship's sensor logs."

"Can you match it with anything?" Diana's voice asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Optimus replied. "The sensor profile is similar to the one put out by Sideways."

"Sideways?" Jetfire asked. "That monster you fought up in Alaska? The one that had to be hit with a blast from the Matrix just to be taken down? How could he have been there?"

"You guys have been running around for millions of years," Diana reasoned. "Who says he couldn't have been around for just as long?"

"But why bring down the _Exodus_?" Jetfire asked. "What reason could he have for it?"

"We can only speculate, Jetfire," Optimus noted.

"Optimus Prime, this is Redline, Super Stunt Team," another voice spoke over the communications line. "Based on all this, I think it's a safe bet that there's more going on here than we know."

"Agreed," Optimus replied. "For the protection of your team and the humans in the area, I'm going to recommend that you come in with us."

"Understood," Redline said. "We'll await pickup."

* * *

The line cut off, and Stella asked, "So is that it? You're leaving?"

"Don't have much choice, mi'ja," Combusta noted. "We stay, we put you and everyone else around here in danger. We leave, at least you'll be safer."

"It's not like we won't be in touch, right?" Twirl asked. "I mean, they made that phone thingy for her. What's stopping them from making one for you?"

"I can't think of any reason not to," Diana replied.

"Still...I can't help but worry about you guys," Stella said.

"Eh, don't get all worried Red," Falcia said dismissively. "We can take care a' ourselves."

Stella smiled weakly, then gave a gentle hug to Falcia. The Mini-Con was a little surprised, but didn't protest too much. The others joined in, gathering close and trying hard not to hurt Stella accidentally.

Diana, watching, couldn't help but feel jealous. She never got any hugs.

* * *

"As much as I like what I'm hearing, Lord Straxus, this sounds too good to be true," Ultra Magnus noted. "Are you sure of what you've heard?"

"Why would Bludgeon lie?" Straxus asked. "Besides, what better chance do we have for stripping Megatron of his resources? The fewer troops supporting him, the better."

"I still recommend caution," Ultra Magnus replied. "Something about this makes me very uneasy. I trust Bludgeon, but this feels too convenient for my taste. Still...please keep us posted."

"I will," Straxus replied over the communications line before cutting off.

As Ultra Magnus rubbed his forehead, Ratchet entered carrying a small data pad. "Looks like you've had a rough time of it."

"I'm never happy being a leader in an office," Magnus explained. "You have the listings?"

"As complete as I can get them," Ratchet said, handing off the data pad. "I've asked the Autobots on Cybertron on this list to visit the medical center for proper analysis, but there won't be too many. And I didn't have much luck getting information from the Decepticon databanks. Still, I'd call this a small victory."

"A small victory's better than none, I suppose," Magnus noted. "Let's just hope nothing else goes wrong today."

* * *

"Can anyone hear me? Anyone? This is Anti-Blaze, my group and the Emergency Team are being tailed by...by something! Help!"

Careening through the streets of Boston and being chased by a massive black semi rig, six Mini-Cons resembling emergency vehicles raced through the early evening, trying their hardest not to hit or be hit by any passing vehicles.

"Anti-Blaze? This is Jolt, can you read me?" a voice came over the Mini-Con's communications system.

"Jolt! Thank Primus!" Anti-Blaze replied. "Where are you? Are you alone?"

"Incinerator and a small group of Autobots are with me," Jolt replied. "There's a city park not far from your position; meet us there!"

"Prowl, can you find it?" another Mini-Con asked.

"Copy that. There's one three blocks north," Prowl replied. "No human activity, but we've got helicopters coming in from above."

"Let's hope we can keep this quiet then," one of two flying Mini-Cons noted, trying their best to dodge fire from the cannon mounted on the semi's rear. "Whoever this is, he's aiming to blast us and anything in his way apart!"

"Let him try, Makeshift!" the second flier noted. "I've been wanting a fight for ages!"

"We've got civilians in the area, Scythe," the one who'd issued orders to Prowl remanded. "I won't have casualties, human or otherwise."

"Agreed, Firebot," Anti-Blaze called.

The six Mini-Cons passed through a shimmering field of energy as they entered the park, and found two Autobots standing at the ready, weapons aimed. "Behind us, now!" one cried, his long red and black rifle held in both hands.

The six complied, and their pursuer soon appeared and slowed.

"Transform, now," the second Autobot said, two guns in his hands and aimed squarely at the aggressor.

The semi seemed to chuckle malevolently, then shifted and changed, standing upright and taking a humanoid form. The two watched, shock growing in their optics. The aggressor, for all intents and purposes, looked like a darkened mirror image of Optimus Prime.

Taking advantage of their shock, the darkened Optimus look-alike pulled out a long gun and opened fire, destroying one of the guns held by the second Autobot and prompting both to open fire.

"Blurr, you okay?" the first Autobot asked.

"Hand's a little shaken up, but it's not big," Blurr replied. He turned to the Mini-Cons and asked, "Think you can lend a hand?"

"Thought you'd never ask!" Scythe replied, prompting him, Prowl, Firebot, and one other Mini-Con to shift into third modes similar to their vehicle forms. Hot Shot took hold of one that had changed into a handgun while Firebot linked up with his rifle, while Scythe connected to Blurr's remaining gun with Prowl landing in his free hand. The two continued to pour on their assault, barely damaging their opponent.

The Prime doppelganger, after a few seconds of fire, simply extended a hand to one side. A ball of energy formed, and solidified into a massive, blackened version of the Star Saber. He rushed forward, seemingly oblivious to the damage, and rammed the sword through Blurr's shoulder, severing his arm seconds before smashing a fist into his chest. Blurr collapsed to the ground, the sword dissipated, and Hot Shot was quickly held by the neck over the ground with the doppelganger's free hand.

"What are you?" Hot Shot asked.

The being only said three words in a deep, menacing voice. "Your prime nemesis."

He then held his gun close to Hot Shot's head, only to be distracted by the sound of an engine revving up. The being turned and looked to see a black sports car rush towards him, shift and change into a powerful-looking mech, and blast him in the face with a large gun. The creature staggered back, and Hot Shot was released.

"What took you?" Hot Shot asked.

"Had to find this place," Crosswise explained.

The creature chuckled again, its face slowly repairing itself, and said, "Pathetic. Tell your leader I await a true challenge." With those words, he faded from sight and disappeared.

"What was that thing?" Jolt asked as he came in for a landing.

"Worry about that later," Hot Shot said, trying to analyze Blurr's unconscious form.

Makeshift quickly scanned the fallen Autobot and reported, "His damage is extensive; we need to get him out of here, now."

"Agreed," Crosswise said before activating his comm.-line. "Crosswise to Ark, we've found the SWAT and Emergency Teams. Hot Shot and Blurr have taken damage, requesting beam-out."

"We're bringing you home, hang on," Red Alert's voice replied over the comm.-line.

The three Autobots and eight Mini-Cons disappeared, Hot Shot gently cradling the fallen Blurr. As they faded from sight, high above, a blue, angular craft watched, then darted out of sight, content with what it had seen.

The End


End file.
